Missionaries of the Sacred HeartThe initials MSC come from the Latin:Missionarii Sacratissimi Cordis

Who are the MSC’s?

The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) is an apostolic congregation of the Catholic Church. Since our founding in Issoudun, France, in 1854 by Fr. Jules Chevalier, we have spread the Gospel to 54 countries, accompanying others in their spiritual journeys, working for social justice/human rights, and serving the poor who are alienated and often without hope.

The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. All contributions to the MSC and/or related programs are tax-deductible.

Spirit

“The spirit of our Congregation is made of love and kindness, humility and simplicity; but above all, it is a spirit of love for justice and concern for the welfare of all, specially the poorest ones.” MSC Constitution 13

The MSC are founded on the Spirituality of the Heart. This spirituality focuses on building healthy relationships with God, self, and others. Often we have false images of God, which in turn cause us to suffer hurts, disillusionment and despair. Sacred Heart spirituality opens our hearts, enabling us to experience the true God who loves us with a human heart and shows us the way to discover God in ourselves, in others, and in all creation. This experience forgives, heals, and transforms our hearts and empowers us to also love with a truly free and open human heart.

Mission

Through the Spirituality of the Heart, we work to serve the global community and to help others experience God’s healing and compassionate love by:

Spreading the Gospel

Responding to the needs of those who are poor, isolated, marginalized or without hope

Promoting human development and compassion, building and modeling healthy relationships and promoting Catholic social teachings

Encouraging lay leadership in the Church and involvement in our missions and spirituality.

The ways in which we carry out our mission vary depending on location and circumstances. Some of our members work to deepen appreciation for God’s love here at home by serving parishes, hospitals, and prisons. Others conduct special retreat programs that help people find healing, love, and joy by releasing past hurts, losses and disappointments and more fully accepting God’s love. Still others proclaim and live the compassion of the Sacred Heart by going to missions overseas. The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart are active in 54 countries, most of which are poor and developing nations. The USA Province of the MSC supports activities and missions in Colombia (South America) and in countries in the South Pacific, South Asia and Africa.

Some of our projects:

In The USA

Native American Ministry in Southern California includes six Native American reservations (Torres Martinez, Pechanga, Cahuilla, Santa Rosa, Morongo, and Soboba). This ministry focuses on strengthening communities by bringing Catholic teachings and values while also honoring and preserving Native American customs, culture and traditions. MSC Native American ministry also supports the operation of St. Jude School (K-5) which combines general, cultural and religious education.

Life’s Healing Journey (LHJ) retreats are designed for anyone of any faith who is suffering from hurts, losses, disappointment, and disillusionment and wants to find healing and greater inner peace.

Parish Ministry – MSC serve 17 parishes throughout the United States. MSC parish ministry focuses on meeting the unique needs of the local community and serving people from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

JPIC Corner – Our free, monthly E-newsletter raises awareness of Catholic Social Teaching and encourages involvement in social justice, good stewardship of the earth and her resources, and integrity of creation issues.

The MSC USA Province’s International Missions include the following projects:

The Justicia y Paz (Justice and Peace) Foundation, Bogotá, Colombia: Founded by the MSC, this organization completed a neighborhood construction project in 2007 which, with the help of funding from the MSC USA Province, made 42 homes available to poor families, most of whom had never before had a place of their own to call “home”.

Missions to remote areas: MSC and MSC seminarians go on missions twice a year to remote areas of the country to evangelize, help counteract the violence, poverty and marginalization which many isolated Colombian communities face.

St. Joseph Training Centre, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea: Provides training in carpentry and mechanics to poor young men, giving them the skills needed to find a job and break the cycle of subsistence farming

Examples of Projects of Foreign MSC Missions which USA Province Helps Support

Chevalier Hostel, Suva, Fiji: Helps keep children off the streets by paying the tuition fees of poorer students (who don’t have the money to pay for their education) and giving them room and board

Chevalier Farm Training Centre, Wainadoi, Fiji: Private and inexpensive vocational training school focusing on teaching farming techniques( but also includes training in carpentry and mechanics) for young men who do not have the money for higher education

Santa Maria College, Kiribati: Opened in February 2009, the school provides education to 258 students from very poor backgrounds.

Chevalier Academy, Tamilnadu, India: An elementary school for rural children of all faiths. Its low school fees allow poor families to send their children to school.

Psychological services, Bangalore, India: An MSC (with a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from US) operates a full-time practice for clients of all religious beliefs and uses a sliding scale based on income so that no one is turned away because of inability to pay.

Health Center, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Recently built by the MSC to give poor people in the Archdiocese of Mbandaka access to medical treatment by providing medications at low cost

Parish in Bamanya, Democratic Republic of the Congo: MSC work to improve the living conditions of the Pygmy population (a minority) and to overcome discrimination and intolerance by organizing social activities between the two tribes (Pgymy and Bantu).

Dormitories – Grossas, Senegal: Open to students of all faiths whose parents want to send them to the MSC-founded boarding school in Kaolack, but who do not have the financial resources or family contacts to arrange the necessary room and board

Follow the Way of the Heart!Please support our efforts to promote humanity, Spirituality of the Heart and Catholic social teachings.